Diamond Cut Diamond
by lilaznboy
Summary: A perfect robbery, a perfect kidnapping, a perfect murder. The seemly unrelated cases grew more interesting seeing that the last crime's prime suspect is Holmes.
1. Chapter 1

AN: i am new to Holmes fanfic, i promise it will get better.

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"Blasted idiots," Holmes cried out, throwing a book on the floor, "this so-called mystery writer is nothing but a blasted fool with one pint too many." I winced, that book was of my favorite mystery books, and I had recommended Holmes to read it. I didn't think he would truly read it.

"Crimes and crime solving are completely different branches of science," he began, "one can not approach both of them by employing the same methodology. One deals with the covering up of the truth while the other is set to uncover the truth," he paused, "let me tell you, Watson, not even I, the Great Sherlock Holmes, can commit the perfect crime."

I was saved from responding by a swift knock to the door. It was Lestrade.

"Do you know what happened?" Lestrade asked excitedly.

Holmes paused for a second before replying, "I know nothing. Beside the fact that you had been up since early morning, the fact that you were chasing a thief with a mocking or patronizing attitude that had just stolen something valuable either from the government or someone who had great influence over them, I know nothing. Yes, of course, you had been chasing him, undoubtedly failed, and that is why you are here."

Lestrade was dumbstruck, "True! The situation right now is pretty grave. Yet, spare one moment and humor me: how did you deduce that?"

Holmes let out a tired chuckle, "I see my power of observation and deduction still amazes you. Very well, let us start from the beginning. Your trousers are filthy, wet, and muddy, yet your shirt is free from such putrid matter with an incorrectly buttoned button. This showed me that you had been up and about with a clean uniform and had dressed with haste or had been half asleep; in this case it is safe to assume it is a combination of both. The uneven marks of mud patterns on your trousers showed me that you had been running and chasing after somebody. Now, let us think, what would require an officer of the Scotland Yard to be up and running at the middle of the night. It would either be murder or thievery from someone influential. I quickly eliminated the former because your pistol is fully loaded. You would have fired if you were chasing a murderer. I did a bit of guesswork on the last bit. It would take some time for the news to reach you yet you had a chance to pursue the thief. Either the person in question had left behind something or wanted the chance to gloat. Seeing that this person is cunning enough to steal from someone influential I opted for the latter." This was a defining moment Holmes for we would find out that in near future he was wrong… a grave mistake.

Lestrade threw his hands up, "That blasted thief left us a piece of red herring and led us right to a trap. He made a complete mockery out of us!'

Holmes nodded, almost sympathetically, "I had an encounter with such an individual; you would find him in my index under L. No? Very well, pray continue."

Lestrade took out a pad and started to read, "The robbery happened around two-fifty in the morning. Mr. Gregory Wilson, the victim and the greatest donor to the London police force, awoken by the noise, found that all his deeds, properties and an heirloom diamond were all gone. He notified the police at three-twenty and I was there by four-fifteen."

Holmes held up his hand, "Pause my good man, does this Mr. Wilson own any pets?"

Lestrade looked baffled, "Umm… yes actually, two bloodhounds."

Holmes waved his hand motioning for him to continue.

"It was then when I found my red herring. Beside the safe was a scrape piece paper. It was a hastily scrawled receipt for very particular brand of French wine. Mr. Wilson did not own such a brand and denied of ever buying that brand. That brand was so particular that only two shops in all of London carries it. One was located near the country and the other was inside a major hotel in the centre of this city. "

"No doubt you went to nearest one, the hotel?"

"Indeed, we did. The clerk recognized the receipt immediately. Apparently this gentleman demanded a receipt. When the clerk was unable to find a piece of paper, the gentleman tore off a scrape of paper and asked the charges to be written on there."

"Allow me to guess, the clerk pointed you the right room but the subject escaped out window. You and your men gave little chase and the subject disappear shortly after without a trace."

Lestrade nodded, slightly embarrassed, "He turned around into a corner and just vanished."

Holmes closed his eyes for a moment before asking, "Does Mr. Wilson have any guards at his house?"

"No, he actually told us that he felt pretty safe in his house,"

Holmes closed his eyes again, deep in thought. After about 3 minutes later he opened his eyes, full of energy and sparkle.

"Mr. Wilson either orchestrated this burglary, or lied about it, or was warned before hand. You must find out which of this is true. Also, obtain a warrant to investigate the deeds and properties Mr. Wilson owns. Oh yes, find out the origin of the heirloom diamond. Do not waste time trying to find the thief right now!"

Our guest looked mystified, "May I ask how you came to this conclusion?"

"Just do as I say, I will explain in due time."

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My first Holmes Fanfic, plz review, next chapter will be longer... 


	2. Chapter 2

"But Holmes," I exclaimed as soon as Lestrade left, "how can say that? You didn't even meet this man!"

"Time, my dear Watson… Think time."

"Time? Holmes, you can't be serious!"

"But, alas, I am. This Mr. Wilson woke up at around two-fifty in the morning; maybe slightly later as the thief make his escape. Here is the odd bit: His house is at the very least 30 minutes to the nearest police station."

"The police was notified in forty minutes, which clearly fells in the time frame of 30 minutes!"

"No, Watson," he waved his hand impatiently, "You are missing the point! A man would not investigate his safe immediately after hearing some noise. Especially, you heard the testimony, one that felt safe in his home. He had two dogs; he would have assumed that one of them made the noise. So, why would a man like him examine his safe as soon as he was waked by some noise at midnight? Mr. Wilson either orchestrated this burglary, or lied about it, or was warned before hand."

"Indeed!" I said, surprised I didn't catch such obvious clues.

"Well… there are still too many unanswered questions to draw a definite conclusion," he said, reaching for his cape and hat, "of course, it is my responsibility to find these answers. See you Watson; I may not be back until very late."

"Wait, Holmes, allow me to come with you. This matter is just too intriguing," I replied, reaching for my own hat.

"No Watson! You mustn't," he said sharply, then continue in more gentle tone, "I am sorry my friend but you must stay put. I fear a visitor may come during my absence. It is of the utmost importance that somebody will receive him. In the mean time, indulge yourself to my index, the letter L. Good day," with that, he was gone.

It was a while before I actually took out his index and flipped to the letter L. This list was quite extensive. It was frustrating, as the cliché saying goes, it was like trying to find a grain of sand on a beach without even knowing what grain you are looking for. After _Lunson_ I stopped looking; I decided it would be easier to both my mind and nerve to wait for Holmes. I picked up the book Holmes had thrown on the floor earlier deciding to reread the book when a knock startled me. Of course, the visitor was here.

"Gregson!" I cried as I opened the door.

"Good day Dr. Watson," Inspector Tobias Gregson said, "Is Holmes here? I have some information asked for earlier. Inspector Lestrade asked me to come, he had some other business to attend to."

"Sadly, Holmes just went out, however, do come in. Holmes had instructed me to welcome my visitors," I said politely.

Gregson shook his head, "That won't be necessary, but perhaps I can leave a message for Holmes?"

"Certainly," I grabbed hold of some pen and paper.

"Mr. Wilson is a widower. His late wife's family was French and was very rich. After his in-laws died, his wife died shortly after. The wife's parents did not leave a will behind and their property went her first cousin. Mr. Wilson appealed and received the land after a lengthy and bitter legal battle. As for the diamond… well it is just a diamond that had been in his family for some time." And he was gone.

I must been asleep because Holmes slamming door when he came in gave me quite a fright.

I rubbed I eyes tiredly, "Holmes! Have you found anything interesting?"

Holmes sighed deeply, "For the first time… I found absolutely nothing. Every window and door, save the front door which Mr. Wilson opened himself, was bolted from the inside. There were no marks on any locks that suggest the thief had picked it. Even the safe was unharmed and not tempered with. It was rainy yesterday and the day before yet there are absolutely no foot prints of the thief. For the first time, I was baffled."

"Wow, so there is a perfect crime eh, Holmes?"

He shot an annoyed look and continued, "No Watson! I did find something of slight interest but it doesn't matter anymore. Very ironic, I found this piece of evidence purely because of Lestrade's stupidity. The receipt Lestrade found was written on the back of a ticket stub. A ticket from France to England, if only I noted this earlier. The thief did not purposely stay behind and gloat. He had to stay to convince the police the receipt was just a receipt."

"So we go to France then Holmes?"

"No Watson, the thief must realize his mistake and had to go else where. But this thief has a name, my index please. Ha, here he is." He passed his index to me.

"_Arsène Lupin_: _French nationality, brilliant thief, referred to as the gentleman thief. Probably the smartest and most flamboyant thief in all of Europe outwitted the French police countless times. He is known for his illusions, trickeries, and disguises to help him in stealing."_

"We had encountered before," Holmes said, "and had a battle of wits, I won… by a hair. He was only 17 years old at that time."

I sat there, dumbstruck, not knowing what to say.

"Lupin didn't disappear today, he merely changed forms. His brilliance in disguise surpass even me." He said.

"What do we do now, Holmes?" I asked.

"I checked with the station, the only boat leaving England today was to Germany. I am positive Lupin want to leave this island as soon as possible. So to Germany we must go!' He exclaimed.

"Excellent, maybe we will have time to visit our old friend, Dr. Freud, in Austria" I said.

"Indeed, I am forever in debt to the doctor for ridding me of my accursed addiction. Oh yes, I remember, there was a story in the paper about him, just recently," he gave a cry and went searching in his archive.

He passed me the paper and I started to read. I had to say, I was quite stunned at what Freud was saying. According to the paper, Freud claimed that dreams were not omens at all but were implication of sexual frustration of the conscious and only through sub-conscious and unconscious mind can we clearly see them. Lo and behold, he had just moved to Germany for an extended research there.

"Really now, if I hadn't known better, I would say Dr. Freud is out of his mind!" I cried.

"Watson," he said in a gentle voice, "you are missing the point entirely. Dr. Freud's path to the conclusion is not half as important as the conclusion itself."

"And what might this conclusion be?"

"The unconscious and sub-conscious mind, of course, here is an example, nobody remembered that Columbus was wrong in his calculation, much less he ended up thousands of miles away from his intended destination. All we remembered about him was he discovered the new world."

And almost as if it was an afterthought, "Pack your bags, Watson, the ship for Germany early in the morning, good night doctor."


End file.
